The 118 is about to fall back into the dark days. If 9-1-1 In the 8th season there are changes in the fire station with Captain Vincent Gerrard (Brian Thompson) at the helm. He returns to take over the captaincy duties that Bobby (Peter Krause) had retired after his recent brush with death and the past. Gerrard is awful and that’s no secret. Showrunner Tim Minear told Entertainment Weekly that even though the character is terrible, “it’s incredibly fun to put him in the mix.” He’s intolerant like no other. New images (courtesy of Entertainment Weekly) show the beginning of Gerrard’s reign over the firehouse, as a rebellion arises from an unexpected source.
The first image shows the team in the midst of the bee emergency that will open the season. The three-part emergency is based on the 1978 film The Swarm. In 9-1-1s approach: 44 million killer bees escape along the way and take over the skies over Los Angeles. It takes 500 bee stings to kill a human, putting at least 44,000 people at risk. The image shows Chimney, Hen, Gerrard and Eddie in bee nets to prevent themselves from being stung while trying to save people. They have different facial expressions as they look at something off-screen.
Buck struggles with Gerrard’s tenure in season 8 of “9-1-1”
The second picture shows the new 118 under Gerrard. Discipline is paramount as the firefighters line up while he inspects them. He is standing next to Buck (Oliver Stark) pointing his finger at something outside the frame. Buck’s expression, however, tells a different story. He looks like he would rather be in the middle of the Bee-Nado than there. “…it’s harder for Buck than the rest of them,” Minear said. He added the reasons for this, saying:
“Eddie was in the military, and both Hen and Chimney have served under this guy before – they’re kind of inoculated. They know not to let him get them down. Bobby is the only captain Buck has ever served under. Bobby is really his surrogate father, so it’s just a lot harder for Buck.”
Eddie is in the military and is used to hierarchy and discipline, so this is like summer camp for him. In the “…Begins” episodes for Hen and Chimney, Gerrard was the captain, so they know how to deal with his antics. Buck is at a disadvantage, however, as he only knows Bobby’s leadership and also has a wildness inside him that only Bobby knows how to tame.
9-1-1 Season 8 premieres on Thursday, September 26th on ABC. You can catch up on previous seasons on Hulu.
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